Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to cryptography, and, more particularly, to a method of ephemeral encrypted communications.
Description of the Related Art
With communication occurring through a variety of communication channels, information such as personal data, sensitive conversations and other sensitive information may be passed across a public network, such as the Internet. Such communication may include, for example, whistleblowing, providing credential information, payment information, or personal account management information. To protect sensitive information, the information can be transmitted over a secure transmission connection provided by an encryption system.
Conventional encryption systems are often difficult to use and thereby introduce weaknesses in the overall systems. For example, asymmetric encryption relies on complex mathematics applied to private and public information (e.g., private and public keys) and is inherently inefficient. Symmetric encryption is significantly more efficient, but relies on secret information (e.g., a password, passphrase, or private key) that must remain private between all persons or devices with authorized access to the encrypted data.
The difficulties of conventional encryption systems increase when the secret information is publicly known. For example, when the secret information is publicly known, the entire encryption system becomes compromised and must be revised (e.g., resetting passwords, passphrases, private keys, etc.). Since various methods to obtain this secret information are well known and frequently used—techniques such as such as man-in-the-middle attacks, social engineering, etc.—it is therefore desirable to reduce exposure to an encryption system's private information and provide an ephemeral communication channel, thereby reducing the potential attack surface and potential exposure of participants employing such an encryption system.